It might not have been pretty, but the Texas Rangers started off 2011 with a win. An eighth inning rally, led by David Murphy's two run double, led the Rangers to victory as Texas broke a 5-5 tie with four runs in the bottom half of the eighth.
The Red Sox drew first blood, scoring twice in the first thanks to an error by Julio Borbon. Borbon's error led to a run scoring double by Kevin Youkilis and run scoring single by Adrian Gonzalez to give Boston a 2-0 lead.
Texas would respond quickly, though, as Ian Kinsler belted a leadoff home run off of Red Sox starting pitcher Jon Lester. Nelson Cruz homered in the second inning to tie the game.
Boston retook the lead in the fourth inning when Gonzalez laced a bases loaded single to center, scoring Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia.
Mike Napoli, one of the newest members of the Rangers endeared himself to the home crowd at Arlington as he gave the Rangers a 5-4 lead after belting a three-run home run off of Lester in the fourth inning.
Texas' bullpen was unable to preserve the lead after C.J. Wilson was chased after just 5.2 innings of work. Mark Lowe recorded an out in the sixth to escape a jam before Arthur Rhodes pitched a scoreless seventh to record a hold. Darren Oliver was not so lucky, as he gave up a game tying solo home run to David Ortiz in the eighth inning.
The Rangers bailed Oliver out, though, scoring four times in the eighth inning. David Murphy hit a pinch hit double down the left field line to give Texas a 7-5 lead, scoring both Napoli and Yorvit Torrealba. Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton both added RBI doubles to give Texas a 9-5 lead, a score they'd win by.
Game Recap:
Winning Pitcher: Darren Oliver (1-0)
Losing Pitcher: Daniel Bard (0-1)
Home Runs: Texas: Kinsler (1), Cruz (1), Napoli (1); Boston: Ortiz (1)